William Thay is president of the think-tank Le Millénaire.
Often mocked for his style and treated as a populist, Boris Johnson has finally won over opinion on both sides of the Channel.
A recent Ifop survey for Le Millénaire indeed shows that 51% of French people have a good opinion of Boris Johnson.
A record score that would place him as the fourth favorite political figure of the French if he practiced in France.
This enthusiasm of the population for Boris Johnson, dissonant with the media treatment that is done, shows that the French also want to regain control of their destiny.
The French praise political voluntarism
Boris Johnson's popularity with the French can be explained by his proactive attitude towards the difficulties his country is encountering. In particular, it is its ability to influence the course of events that is acclaimed as more and more people are subjected to external events linked to globalization (economic change, migratory pressure, etc.). Indeed, we observe a clear divide in the perception of Boris Johnson's action between the winners and the downgrades of globalization. Higher education graduates, who can benefit from the current system, have only 36% a good opinion of Boris Johnson. Conversely, non-graduates, holders of a CAP and a baccalaureate who are downgraded from globalization and needa leader with a strong personality like the British Prime Minister, have respectively 59%, 53% and 55% of good opinion. There is a fate for them, where the first quarter of their life will determine the remaining three quarters and whatever their effort.
To regain control and bring about a resurgence of sovereignty, Boris Johnson relies on significant political voluntarism and an attitude that does not seek to avoid conflict at all costs. This philosophy
of Boris Johnson's
“
Take Back Control
” materialized in his two historic successes, Brexit and the vaccination campaign. During Brexit, he manages to embody a hard line and an unwavering determination to achieve Brexit,
"Get Brexit Done"
, to shatter blockages in negotiations both with the European Union and within its own parliament.
In the context of the health crisis, the success of the UK vaccination campaign is due both to the strategy of the first dose but also to the continued activism of Boris Johnson to bring all stakeholders around the table, encourage early vaccine research, ensure the production and rapid importation of doses in sufficient quantities.
What lessons for France?
The French also wish to regain control of their destiny because they are aware of the obstacles of the European technostructure and of the presence of corporations which defend their interests more than those of the country. They can be embodied by the bureaucracy which imposes its intentions on the political power, the economic corporations as the unions which defend their profession without comprehension of the whole. This also applies to the
establishment
political or media that rejects opinions by invoking the populist risk or the tyranny of minorities to avoid tackling so-called "sensitive" subjects.
It is therefore a question of regaining control of the deep state by embodying a strong reforming will.
More generally, the challenge for France is to become master at home again in order to be able to choose its destiny again.
It is for this reason that Boris Johnson has also made immigration and restoring state authority key points in his project.
If across the Channel Boris Johnson claims to have Winston Churchill as a model, in France it is a question of finding the modern heir of the Emperor of the French and of General de Gaulle.
William Thay
The success of Boris Johnson in the United Kingdom and his significant popularity in France can also be explained by his desire to be part of the legacy of the great saviors of the homeland. In the midst of a declining Western civilization, the peoples of the great European nations are looking for the man who will be able to restore their country to greatness. If across the Channel Boris Johnson claims to have Winston Churchill as a model, in France it is a question of finding the modern heir of the Emperor of the French and of General de Gaulle. The enthusiasm for the bicentenary of the death of Napoleon Bonaparte shows that for a large part of the French, “
France cannot be France without greatness
”.The question then is to find this political leader ready to transform the country in depth to restore it to its greatness.
What lessons for the right?
The right must understand how Boris Johnson managed to transform his party to adapt it to the new geopolitical and economic era.
After Brexit, he changed his party to address the middle and working classes more by reconciling the need for freedom and the need for protection.
This compensates for the loss of CSP + which was in favor of the
Remain
. An Ifop survey for Le Millénaire shows that it is very popular among employees (68%), workers (56%), craftsmen or traders (55%), but less among executives and higher intellectual professions (36%) . With this strategy, Boris Johnson offers a concrete example of a strategy to siphon off a political offer like UKIP (party in favor of Brexit). This method consists in transforming the demands of a protest party into a political project of a government party capable of having a concrete influence on society. This is thus a textbook case at a time when the Republicans are seeking to find their voters who have left for Macron or Le Pen.
If the right must be inspired by Boris Johnson to offer the French a takeover of their destiny, it must also adopt an ambitious project of outreach. Indeed, Boris Johnson's project revolves around two concepts: “
Take Back Control
” and “
Global Britain
”. Through these concepts, it is for the British people to once again become master of their own homes (“
Take Back Control
”) in order to once again set out to conquer the world (“
Global Britain
”). The "
Global Britain
Plans to transform the UK to adapt it to a more competitive world and to show through its transformation that the model of liberal democracy and the market economy is the best model for ensuring social and economic progress in the world. 'humanity.
Finally, the ambition is to carry out a very Gaullian project of national independence and influence.
Beyond the caricatures that are made of it, Boris Jonhson has managed to meet the expectations of a part of the population forgotten by globalization.
Through his political will, he gave them the power to control their destiny and proposed an ambitious social project.
In France too, we should be inspired by it, to put an end to 40 years of decline and to reconnect France with great history.